KordaMentha is an advisory and investment firm that has a range of services to help clients grow, protect and recover value

The 2012 Chain Reaction Challenge set a new fundraising record with over $2.8 million raised from its Victorian, NSW and Queensland events.

March 28, 2012

Chain Reaction raises money for sick children by challenging senior executives who have a passion for cycling and an awareness of their corporate and social responsibilities, to ride a 1,000 plus kilometre course in 7 days.

KordaMentha Partner Berrick Wilson, founded the annual Challenge in 2007 after his daughter Milla was rushed to hospital with a brain haemorrhage when she was 2 days old. After Milla’s full recovery, Berrick was driven to do something that would allow people in a similar position to himself to assist sick and hospitalised children. As a result, Chain Reaction was founded.

The 2012 Victorian Chain Reaction Challenge held in March, saw 44 cyclists ride more than 1,100 kilometres around regional Victoria in 7 days. Through the generous support of corporate sponsors and personal donors, the Victorian Challenge raised $960,000 for its Charity partners. These funds will be shared between the major charity partners, the Starlight Children’s Foundation and Eastern Health plus with a number of other smaller children’s charities.

The funds that Chain Reaction donates to these charities makes a fundamental and tangible difference to how they operate. The Starlight Foundation, which relies solely on private donations and fundraising, received $300,000 from Chain Reaction for its Monash program allowing them to go from being open 3 days a week to 5. Anne Johnston, a spokesperson from Starlight, says that this means that over 4,200 children receive the benefit of the Starlight program as opposed to only 2,400 kids as a result of the GFC.

Since its first ride in 2007, Chain Reaction riders have ridden 365,000 kilometres and raised more than $7.3 million on behalf of their charity partners. This unique event challenges its riders to use their standing in the business community and their networks to raise a minimum of $5,000 in personal donations for the Victorian and Queensland rides and $10,000 in personal donations for the NSW ride.

The values of Chain Reaction are intrinsic to its ongoing success. Riders and the support crew participate in the spirit of camaraderie, teamwork and fun with each event completed as a group and not as a race. This spirit is captured in a video about Chain Reaction narrated by the 2012 Chain Reaction patron Phil Liggett, one of the best-known figures in world cycling.